Day 12Fruit and Fruit Products

Words, Phrases, and Concepts

• Anthocyanins • Polyphenolic compounds• IQF• 4 + 1 pack• Sulphur dioxide, sulfites• CA storage• Phenolase• Ethylene gas

Introduction

Fruit is: – The centerpiece of many traditional desserts.Examples: Pies, poached pears, apple strudel.

– A popular garnish for plated desserts.– An important source of flavor, color, texture.– A healthful ingredient.

• Most fruits are good sources of dietary fiber.• Pigments in fruits, besides providing color, have

health benefits.– Anthocyanins (polyphenolic compounds) are the red

and purple pigments in fruits.– Carotenoids are in orange and yellow fruits.

How Fruit is PurchasedFruit can be purchased:

– Fresh.– Frozen.– Canned.– Dried.

It comes:– Whole or sliced.– Pureed or as paste.– Packed in water or sugar.– As jam, as prepared pie filling or bakery

filling.

How Fruit is Purchased

Fresh fruit– Most fruits are available year-round.

• Exceptions: pomegranate and lychee, for example.

– Quality can vary depending on:• Storage conditons.• Time of year.• Growing region.• Climatic conditions.• Different varieties of same fruit.

How Fruit is PurchasedFrozen fruit

– Straight-pack (fruit only).• Freezes solid; whole container must be thawed before use.

– Individually Quick Frozen, IQF.• Fruit pieces remain separate; thaw only what is needed.

– Sugar-packed.• Sugar or syrup added.

– Example: 4 + 1 strawberries.• Like straight-pack, freezes solid; whole container must be

thawed.• Sugar protects color, flavor, texture of fruit.

– Purees.• Convenient for sauces, for garnishing plated desserts.• Come in a wide variety of flavors;

– Examples: raspberry, mango.• Expensive, but saves labor.

How Fruit is Purchased

Canned fruits, fillings, jams– Solid pack: fruit only.

Example: Pumpkin.

– Water pack.– Syrup pack.

• Light, medium, heavy syrup.• As with poached fruit, fruit packed in syrup will be firmer and

more vibrant in color than fruit packed in water.

– Fruit pie and pastry fillings.• Ready to use.• Often contains additives to improve color and firmness and

to prevent mold growth once opened.

How Fruit is PurchasedDried fruit

– Drying is a form of preservation.– Some fruits are dried naturally in sun.

• Most dates, figs, plums, raisins.– Some are tunnel-dried under controlled conditions.

• Apples, apricots, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, papayas.

– Sulfur dioxide (or other form of sulfur) sometimes added to light-colored fruits, to prevent browning.

• Apples, apricots, golden raisins, papayas, peaches, pears.• Often have characteristic sulfur taste.

– Sugar sometimes added to low-sugar fruits, to prevent toughening and to balance sourness.

• Blueberries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries.

Common Dried FruitsRaisins

– Most common dried fruit; also made into paste.– Dried from Thompson Seedless grapes.

• Also called sultana grape.• Natural or golden.

– Zante currant raisins.• Dried from small Black Corinth (“champagne”) grape.• About one-quarter the size of regular raisins.

Common Dried FruitsSweetened dried fruit

– Blueberries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries.– Sugar softens and sweetens fruits naturally low in

sugar.– Use in heavy doughs or in low-moisture products.

• Examples: cookies and scones.– Compared with fresh or frozen fruit:

• Flavor and color not as fresh and bright.• More expensive.

Common Dried FruitsDried plum paste

– Also called prune paste.– Generally dark brown in color, but lighter pastes

available.– Made by blending dried plums with water.– High in sorbitol, a hygroscopic polyol.– Used as a fat replacer.

• Moistens, tenderizes, leavens.

Fresh fruits• All have skin and seeds• Apple, Pear• Stone- Peach, Apricot, Plum, Nectarine,

Cherry, Avocado • Citrus- Orange, Mandarin, Tangerine,

Clementine, Lemon, Citron, Lime, Grapefruit, Pommelo, Tangerine, Kumquat

• Berry- Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry• Tropical- Banana, Mango, Carambola,

Guava, Kiwi, Lychee• Other- Pomegranate

Common FruitsApples

– Many varieties available.– Most common in U.S.:

• Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths– Newer varieties developed and popularized:

• Fuji, Gala, Jonagold, Honeycrisp.– Each variety has a characteristic color, flavor, texture.– “Fresh” apples have sometimes been stored under

Controlled Atmosphere (CA) conditions.• Kept at optimal temperature, humidity, oxygen conditions.• Some apples stored as long as six months in CA storage.• Apples lose sourness and aroma; become mealy; brown more

quickly.

Common FruitsApples

– No one apple best for all uses. – Apples for:

• Pie or strudel: best if apple has apple aroma, crisp firmness, sufficient sourness. Often, combination of different apples works best.

• Whole baking: best if apple holds shape. Rome Beauty does this best.

• Fresh fruit: best if apple is more sweet than sour, is firm and crisp, does not easily brown. Cortland, Golden Delicious, Cameo, Fuji.

Common FruitsBrowning of apples

– Apples and certain other fruits brown within minutes of being cut, or when frozen and thawed.

– Caused by the enzyme phenolase.• Phenolase causes polyphenolic compounds to form very

large molecules that are brown. – To prevent:

• Heat fruit, to inactivate enzyme.• Add lemon juice or another acid, to lower pH.• Cover fruit in liquid, or coat with syrup or glaze.• Select fruit variety that browns slowly or not at all.Example: pears poached in sugar syrup with added lemon

juice.

Common FruitsBlueberries

– Sometimes called bilberries, rabbiteyes, huckleberries.– Two main types: wild and cultivated. – Cultivated blueberries; grow on shrubs.

• Also called high-bush blueberries.• Larger in size; provide juiciness when bitten into.

– Wild blueberries; grows on low vines.• Also called low-bush blueberries.• Commonly added to muffins, because of small size:

– More points of color and flavor per pound.– Better uniformity when added to batter.– Less fragile; will not tear and run into batter.

– Unattractive green discoloration in baked goods is from anthocyanin pigments, which are green at high pH.

Fruit Ripening

Ripening involves a series of changes.– Varies with the fruit, but, in general, fruits

• Soften and become juicier.• Develop more color and flavor.• Become sweeter and less sour.

– Caused by the action of enzymes that break down large molecules into smaller ones.

• Examples: starches break down to sugars that sweeten, soften; pectin breaks down, to soften.

– Requires plant to respire, or take in oxygen from air.

Fruit Ripening

Some fruits cannot ripen after they are picked, or harvested.

– Fruits that do not ripen after harvest include: Berry fruits, cherries, citrus, grapes, pineapples.

– When purchasing these fruits, accept only those that are already fully ripe.

– Do not judge ripeness by color alone.• Many fruits develop color sooner than they develop

flavor. Example: blueberries.

Fruit Ripening

Some fruits can ripen at least partially after they are picked, or harvested.

– Fruit must be fully mature, that is, it must be full-sized.

– Fruit must be stored properly before ripening.• If exposed to cold temperatures first, some fruits,

including peaches, mangoes, and papaya, will not ripen properly.

Fruit Ripening

Fruits that ripen after harvest include:– Apples, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, mangoes,

peaches, pears, plums.– Some fruits ripen more completely than others.

• Bananas ripen better after harvest than any other fruit. They soften, sweeten, and develop aroma.

• Cantaloupes and papayas soften and develop color, but they will not sweeten or develop aroma once harvested.

Cooking Fruits

• Bake• Saute• Poach- syrup• Boil- citrus rinds

Storage and Handling

Fresh fruits– Wash just before use, to remove dirt and

microorganisms.• Do not wash before storage; fruit could mold, soften,

and swell.– Store fruits under high humidity.– Store ripe fruits at low temperatures.

• Exception: store citrus and tropical fruits at 50–60ºF (10–16ºC) instead. Prevents chilling injury.

– Do not store in closed plastic bags unless bags are specially designed for fruit storage.

Storage and Handling

Fresh fruits– Keep fruits that do not ripen after harvest away

from those that do.• Fruits that ripen after harvest naturally give off

ethylene gas, which causes fruits to ripen and rot. • Example: store lemons separate from apples.

– Remove and discard spoiled or rotten fruit, • Will give off ethylene gas and cause fruits to ripen

and rot.

Storage and Handling

To ripen fresh fruit fast:– Store in warm area.– Add a ripe banana or ripe apple.

• Both give off large amounts of ethylene, which speeds ripening.

– Place in closed paper bag or cardboard carton. • Traps ethylene gas given off by banana/apple inside

bag.• Allows continuous flow of oxygen, required for

ripening, to pass into bag.

Storage and Handling

Dried fruits– Cover, to prevent moisture loss.– Store below 45ºF (7ºC), if possible; prevents

• Color and flavor changes.• Insect and rodent infestations.

– If sugar crystallizes during cold storage, condition fruit before use, to revive flavor and texture.

• Submerge in warm water or another liquid, then immediately drain; set aside for several hours.

• Add 1–2 ounces of warm liquid per pound of dried fruit (80–120 grams per kilogram); toss, then set aside several hours.

Lab

• Oxidation of Apples- pg. 443• Gr 1: Untreated• Gr 2: Dipped in acidulated water• Gr 3: Soaked in Acidulated water• Gr 4: Tossed in lemon juice• Each group- Clean 2 pint strawberry

Lab• Apple Crisp- pg. 449• Gr 1: Red delicious• Gr 2: Granny Smith• Gr 3: Fufi• Gr 4:Macintosh• Sous Chef: Streusel – do first; Puree

strawberries; Simple syrup 2 qts ( for Sorbet)• 1# 8 oz. Sugar; 8 oz. Corn syrup, 2# water• Make sorbet mix- refrigerate

Lab

• Each person- peel and section orange • Candy peels

Candying peels

• Cut peels into strips- 1/4” wide• Start in cold water- boil 3 times- change

water after each- Rinse after each• 1:1 syrup- bring to boil- reduce to simmer

and poach peels until tender and translucent

Sorbet mix

• Weigh puree• Add syrup- 50% of puree weight• Mix and refrigerate